ladysmijubug2's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
hobbes199's review
3.0
A definite curate's egg.
Full review here: http://ifthesebookscouldtalk.com/2014/06/24/dead-boy-detectives/
Full review here: http://ifthesebookscouldtalk.com/2014/06/24/dead-boy-detectives/
dlarue's review
4.0
I did not realize this was related to the Sandman series. I don't know why I didn't see it, but I did think Death in this book reminded me of Death in the Sandman.
I really liked most of the book, but I will admit I did skip one or two pages cause... I just liked the pretty pictures. :>
I really liked most of the book, but I will admit I did skip one or two pages cause... I just liked the pretty pictures. :>
delirium23's review
2.0
1.5
Really disappointed with this. I was stoked when I found out that this series existed considering how much I love Sandman, but it really lacked the magic Sandman contained. Unfortunately, I won't be continuing this series.
Really disappointed with this. I was stoked when I found out that this series existed considering how much I love Sandman, but it really lacked the magic Sandman contained. Unfortunately, I won't be continuing this series.
mossyforest's review
3.0
This series was ok. It’s a spin off from sandman so I picked it up. I found the stories them selves a little middle road but I really loved the new character in this book, Crystal Palace. She is awesome! She is the daughter of a rock star and an artist and is really into video games and cosplaying.
It is a fun read though and the art is really solid. I really like the pastel colour palate used and the covers are great. Not sure weather to keep buying it or not.
It is a fun read though and the art is really solid. I really like the pastel colour palate used and the covers are great. Not sure weather to keep buying it or not.
hollowspine's review
3.0
Ever since Season of Mists I've had an interest in these two school boys who skipped out on Death. Over the years there have been a few mentions of them, a miniseries done by Ed Brubaker [b:The Dead Boy Detectives|2297296|The Dead Boy Detectives|Ed Brubaker|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348884375s/2297296.jpg|2303612], one by Jill Thompson also called [b:The Dead Boy Detectives|114863|The Dead Boy Detectives|Jill Thompson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1308957749s/114863.jpg|110605] and now this series...also called "Dead Boy Detectives."
I actually enjoyed the Brubaker spin on the two boys a bit, but part of me wonders how Charles and Edwin are represented similarly in all three works. The bit they played in Season of Mists was hardly defining, yet here they are, Edwin the younger bashful and cowardly, and Charles always chasing after some dame. How it came to be that they're always setting up some detective office, I'm also not really sure.
As with the other two Toby Litt follows on. Charles gets the two "Dead Boy Detectives" into a bit of a fix chasing after a girl. Edwin flees in terror from a school master. So far exactly to form. Then we get introduced to Crystal, a girl who is doing her own bit of detective work, into ghosts as it happens.
The pair, plus Crystal, return to St.um...St.Bruticus (I can't remember the actual name) the school where both Edwin and Charles were brutally murdered, and swore never to return. Well, it seems the school is still a hellsmouth and things there a pretty crummy. Students are being used to house demon spirits, or something.
It was a bit dodgy really. The plot was just there for fun it seems, not to actually make sense or anything. I really enjoyed the art, but how the characters went from situation to situation was a bit nonsensical and difficult to follow. The story could definitely use some tweaking.
So, all in all, I'm still waiting for these two characters to come into their own. I actually preferred the Brubaker take to this one. Readers looking for something similar to Sandman should check out [b:The Books of Magic|17727|The Books of Magic|Neil Gaiman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367303662s/17727.jpg|2986314] instead. Well written, great art.
I actually enjoyed the Brubaker spin on the two boys a bit, but part of me wonders how Charles and Edwin are represented similarly in all three works. The bit they played in Season of Mists was hardly defining, yet here they are, Edwin the younger bashful and cowardly, and Charles always chasing after some dame. How it came to be that they're always setting up some detective office, I'm also not really sure.
As with the other two Toby Litt follows on. Charles gets the two "Dead Boy Detectives" into a bit of a fix chasing after a girl. Edwin flees in terror from a school master. So far exactly to form. Then we get introduced to Crystal, a girl who is doing her own bit of detective work, into ghosts as it happens.
The pair, plus Crystal, return to St.um...St.Bruticus (I can't remember the actual name) the school where both Edwin and Charles were brutally murdered, and swore never to return. Well, it seems the school is still a hellsmouth and things there a pretty crummy. Students are being used to house demon spirits, or something.
It was a bit dodgy really. The plot was just there for fun it seems, not to actually make sense or anything. I really enjoyed the art, but how the characters went from situation to situation was a bit nonsensical and difficult to follow. The story could definitely use some tweaking.
So, all in all, I'm still waiting for these two characters to come into their own. I actually preferred the Brubaker take to this one. Readers looking for something similar to Sandman should check out [b:The Books of Magic|17727|The Books of Magic|Neil Gaiman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367303662s/17727.jpg|2986314] instead. Well written, great art.
nigellicus's review
5.0
Ed Brubaker and Bryan Talbot, two creators I respect loads, had a fist at a Dead Boy Detective miniseries, and it didn't really work. It's pretty hard to replicate the charm Neil Gaiman brought to Edwin and Charles in their introduction in one of the best issues of his Sandman run, an interlude in the middle of Season Of Mists when the souls released by Lucifer have all returned to Earth and Death is running around trying to round them up. Getting their voices right is probably impossible if you're not Neil Gaiman. Toby Litt doesn't quite manage it - the prelude adventure here is a bit weak and not very promising. The series proper kicks off, however, with the introduction of Crystal Palace, a cutting-edge contemporary personality, privileged daughter of self-obsessed performance-artist Mum and ex-rock star Dad who is welded to her phone and computer as well as engaged in a big online game and the subject of media scrutiny - an enfant terrible in the making. With Edwin haling from 1916 and Charles from 1990, the addition of a child of the new century is entirely appropriate and she works as a foil to their terrible innocence.
After a performance art stunt goes wrong, Edwin and Charles rescue Crystal, but her glimpse of the supernatural sends her to enroll in their old school where very evil doings are afoot, and old school bullies and new stalk the dorms. By this time, Litt has stamped his own mark on the series and made it his own, you stop comparing the boys' voices in this series to their voices as written by Gaiman, and with typically lovely Mark Buckingham art it turns into a wonderful modern supernatural adventure.
After a performance art stunt goes wrong, Edwin and Charles rescue Crystal, but her glimpse of the supernatural sends her to enroll in their old school where very evil doings are afoot, and old school bullies and new stalk the dorms. By this time, Litt has stamped his own mark on the series and made it his own, you stop comparing the boys' voices in this series to their voices as written by Gaiman, and with typically lovely Mark Buckingham art it turns into a wonderful modern supernatural adventure.
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